Top newsmakers of the week

Top Newsmakers

It was an eventful week for the stock market and here are the 10 noteworthy stories.

1/11

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Tata Steel to raise funds via NCDs

Tata Steel will seek shareholder approval to raise about Rs 10,000 crore through non-convertible debentures in an exercise seen to help India's oldest maker of the alloy reduce its financing costs.

The debentures, part of a private placement, could be denominated in Indian rupees or any foreign currency, primarily to allow the company the "flexibility to tap into these pools opportunistically."

2/11

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ICICI Lombard eyes IPO route

ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company has filed draft prospectus with Sebi to dilute around 19 per cent stake through an initial public offering.

ICICI Lombard, a joint venture between ICICI Bank and Canada-based Fairfax Financial Holdings, will be the first private general insurer to go public.

3/11

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BSE to add 48 cos to Group ‘A’

BSE will shift securities of 48 companies including IDFC Bank and InterGlobe Aviation to Group ‘A’ category, the most tracked segment on the bourse's platform, from July 17.

These 48 companies would be moved from Group ‘B’ to Group ‘A’ and the decision is based on their performance in areas such as compliance, corporate governance and responsible investment. BSE reviews Group ‘A’ companies every six months.

4/11

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Sebi amends rules for DTs

Markets regulator Sebi has set up new regulations for debenture trustees, wherein an entity will not be prohibited from acting as a trustee if the government provides guarantees for the debenture issued.

The norms come following recommendations of a Sebi-appointed task force that examined the "challenges in performing the obligations and duties as Debenture Trustees (DTs) to protect the interests of the debenture holders".

5/11

BCCL

Wipro planning shares buyback

Wipro said it would consider a share buyback at its board meeting next week, making it likely the company will repurchase shares for the second time in as many years.

Notably, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services and Cognizant have all announced share buybacks.

6/11

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Sensex conquers new peak

Shares hit record highs this week with Sensex conquering the 32,000-level as a drop in June retail inflation data sparked hopes of a rate cut by the Reserve Bank of India and US Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen indicated monetary policy tightening will be gradual.

Data released on Wednesday showed consumer price index-based inflation fell to a record low of 1.5% in June while growth in industrial production fell to a three-month low in May.

7/11

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New rules for derivatives markets?

Sebi proposed to overhaul its rules for derivatives trading through a public consultation.

Sebi will also seek to address, with the new norms, any inefficiencies present in the market and any regulatory arbitrage that needs to be plugged.

8/11

BCCL

Govt to look into gold IGST grievance

Nominated banks could soon resume gold imports on consignment basis with the government assuring them that it would consider their request for imposing 3% IGST on the sale value to customers rather than on the tariff value, which is substantially higher and could cause them significant losses.

Just before the new indirect levy kicked in on July 1, banks ceased imports of gold on consignment basis following concerns that they would lose funds on sales the same day or in case the value of gold fell below the tariff value at the time of sale.

9/11

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Sebi amends guidelines for EFIs

Markets regulator Sebi last week amended the guidelines for eligible foreign investors looking to operate at the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC).

Now, a trading member of a stock exchange in the IFSC can carry out the due diligence for an eligible foreign investor (EFI), who is not registered with the regulator as a Foreign Portfolio Investor (FPI).

10/11

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Infosys, TCS declare Q1 results

Infosys turned in better-than-expected performance in the first quarter, and maintained its full-year growth guidance. For the quarter ended June 30, company's revenue grew 2.7% sequentially to $2.65 billion in constant currency terms while net profit fell 0.4% to $541 million.

TCS posted a 10 per cent quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) fall in June quarter net profit at Rs 5,950 crore, which was substantially below the Rs 6,203 crore profit estimate projected by analysts in an ETNow poll.